<p>What are suckers and how does one identify them? What does thin vs strip mean? Thanks.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to worrywart’s question. But I have another question. (My kids would roll their eyes at this point - they never like my questions.) </p>
<p>How do plants turn toward the sun? Not why - I know they turn to face the light. But how exactly? It’s not as if they had muscles, or anything. What is the mechanism which turns their leaves?</p>
<p>In the PNW and once peach orchardist, I like to prune in the spring, Just after blossom. Because its easier to tell if we would have a harvest, I can tell if what is weak and dead, lessen chance of rain transference of diseases, wound heals better, and the pruning action reduces the number of fruit that we have to remove. We had several years where a spring frost dramatically culled the blossoms/fruit set to the point where any fruit was worth something. A late frost also meant that if you pruned in the winter, all that labor was essentially wasted. </p>
<p>A late summer/fall pruning in the PNW is not recommended, other than major cuts. Because pruning stimulates the tree to produce shoots, just when its time to send sugars down to the roots. </p>
<p>If of course you have a lot of acreage, a winter pruning is a must to stay ahead of the trees.</p>
<p>Spring is here finally. The great flocks of Canadian Geese arose and left yesterday Ap 4 for breeding grounds. Yearlings still here but will gradually leave. Weather is clear, moon is half, and wind is right to go north. We finally hit 60 degrees.</p>
<p><a href=“http://ceamador.ucdavis.edu/files/934.pdf[/url]”>http://ceamador.ucdavis.edu/files/934.pdf</a></p>
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<p>**What is a plant sucker? **
<a href=“http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/trees-shrubs/tree-sucker-removal-and-tree-sucker-control.htm[/url]”>http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/trees-shrubs/tree-sucker-removal-and-tree-sucker-control.htm</a></p>
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<p>How do plants turn toward the sun?</p>
<p>[Heliotropism</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotropism]Heliotropism”>Heliotropism - Wikipedia)
The motion is performed by motor cells in a flexible segment just below the flower, called a pulvinus. The motor cells are specialized in pumping potassium ions into nearby tissues, changing their turgor pressure. The segment flexes because the motor cells at the shadow side elongate due to a turgor rise. Heliotropism is a response to blue light.</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropism[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropism</a>
Phototropism is enabled by auxins. Auxins are plant hormones that have many functions. In this respect, auxins are responsible for expelling protons (by activating proton pumps) which decreases pH in the cells on the dark side of the plant. This acidification of the cell wall region activates enzymes known as expansins which break bonds in the cell wall structure, making the cell walls less rigid. In addition, the acidic environment causes disruption of hydrogen bonds in the cellulose that makes up the cell wall. The decrease in cell wall strength causes cells to swell, exerting the mechanical pressure that drives phototropic movement.</p>
<p>Thanks, CS.</p>
<p>Thanks, CS.</p>
<p>wow, Shrinkrap - thanks so much. That was fascinating!</p>
<p>Do you put used coffee grounds around the base of your hydrangea? My Dad does so I’m wondering whether this is commonly done?</p>
<p>Finally got to use those Botany classes!</p>
<p>[Peet’s</a> Coffee & Tea](<a href=“http://www.peets.com/who_we_are/community_soil.asp?rdir=1&]Peet’s”>http://www.peets.com/who_we_are/community_soil.asp?rdir=1&)</p>
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<p><a href=“http://www.landscape-america.com/landscapes/shrubs/hydrangea.html[/url]”>http://www.landscape-america.com/landscapes/shrubs/hydrangea.html</a></p>
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<p>Many Starbucks stores will give you used coffee grounds for free, if you ask.</p>
<p>So the old man’s not nuts? Thanks so much for this info.</p>
<p>Just now rototilling the new garden. The garden is a big circle about 50 yards around. It used to be the sandy base for a big aboveground pool, then a site for a swingset, slide, etc. unit, then was topsoiled and planted in grass, then was ignored for a couple of years and is now very weedy. The area is level but the yard around it slopes down. DH replaced railroad tie wall with stone wall a couple of years ago. At one point along the the circle, the stone wall is 5 feet high–yard has fast slope at that area. About 2/3 of the circumferance is bounded by this heavyduty stone wall. So I will only have to bury the fence for about 10 yards, which is good because that is a PIA. Ordered the 72 inch heavyduty fencing and those green metal posts, 7 feet high. Had 8 yards of combined mushroom manure/compost delivered today.</p>
<p>The compost pile is doing well. Lots of leaves, leaf compost from previous years applied to the pile site, wood ashes, yard litter, kitchen waste. I got one of those white PVC pipes, drilled holes into it and set it upright in the middle of the site and raked the pile as high up around the aeration pipe as I could. I’d love a hot pile, but I don’t think it has enough nitrogen in it yet, and it has been COLD here. (I just need to pee in it a couple of times–awkward, though, lol). </p>
<p>Decided to turn the playhouse my dh built 12ish years ago into the chicken coop. The playhouse is a delightful gingerbread thing that my engineer dh overengineered, electricity, etc. It is raised about 6.5 feet off the ground with a deck going around it and cute little deck-like steps going up to it. Under it, he built a totally framed-in and chickenwired-in sandbox area with a door and everything. Wanted to keep the kitties out of the sand. Well, the wire is long, long gone, but the framing and the door are still there. I will build a ramp from the steps going to the house, down to the sandbox area and this will be the protected run for the hens when they are outside, but not free-ranging. Am applying hardware fabric wire to all the framing to keep predators out. Am covering 8 of the playhouse windows with hardware fabric. The 2 windows in the front of the house will be where the nesting boxes are and they will be covered by latch-able wood shutters that open down, for access to the eggs from outside the house. Neighbor is building plywood ‘plugs’ to put in the window openings (from the outside) in the wintertime, with knobs on them for easy placement. On the inside, we are removing the trashed vinyl flooring, renailing the wood panelling, and replacing the wood floor under the lifted vinyl that got and stayed wet and is rotting. The 2x6s framing the floor are totally intact. There is some mold inside, and neighbor who flips houses is going to spray some superduper mold killer and preventer stuff that he uses in houses. The nesting boxes are going to be 5 gallon buckets with the bottoms removed. Will place them on their sides elevated to the height of the 2 front windows, with the open bottoms on the window sills, allowing easy access to the eggs when the front window shutters are opened. Also have to build a door on the playhouse, as dh never got around to that. Will use plentiful downed tree branches for the roosts.</p>
<p>Planning to bed the chickens on deep litter: organic material such as straw, shredded leaves, whatever is available 6 inches deep to start, more added anytime there is an ammonia odor. The chickens scratch around in this especially if you throw some corn in, thereby aerating it, and it decomposes, and when it is cleaned out once or twice a year, you have wonderful compost. I will probably compost it a little further before applying it to the garden, since chicken poo is extremely ‘hot’ when fresh and can kill plants. This method sure beats frequent cleaning of the coop, and the decomposing deep litter actually helps keep the chickens warm in the winter. </p>
<p>The seedlings are coming along. </p>
<p>What I am describing is a cooperative effort. Anyone who helps get it going and helps maintain it gets to share in the bounty. We’ll have 6 laying chickens, and at one egg per day, there will be enough eggs for everyone. My family has 3 people, the major co-planner/helper has a family of 3, there is one single man, and I want to get another family of 3 involved. And I may have to buy off the people who live next to me with eggs and vegies. I won’t be having any roosters, but chickens!!! In suburbia!!!</p>
<p>Mind you, I also bought a family share of a local farm, hedging my bets. Gonna be lots of stuff to put up and eat this summer.</p>
<p>After a harsh winter followed by a soggy early spring, who’s ready to talk gardening? I stopped at my favorite garden center today and walked through the entire greenhouse to get a sneak peak of their inventory. I get a high from the beauty and can’t wait to start planting.</p>
<p>Holla! </p>
<p>I’m ready! Haven’t DONE anything though…</p>
<p>H dragged me into Molback’s last weekend. One can never escape that place without leaving some serious $$$ behind. Most of our efforts so far have been more of a lansdcaping nature than gardening. We ripped out some plants that outgrew their space and replaced them with new ones. I’m so tired of this wet, cold spring! I’m ready to dig in the dirt, but I do not want to dig in the mud.</p>
<p>It’s been so cold here in New England that I’m afraid to plant anything young and tender. I did take a few large potted plants out of the conservatory and put them on the patio to let them acclimate to the cool air, but think I should wait until May 1 to put in annuals. All of the nurseries and greenhouses are full, so I may replace a few shrubs that didn’t make it through the winter. I landscaped a new area of my yard last year and unfortunately, several trees and shrubs did not make it. I’m hoping the nursery will replace them, or at least give me a discount.</p>
<p>I made the mistake of walking through our local garden store. Didn’t pick up a cart or basket, since I was only looking, right? So I ended up at the counter, clutching a couple of new ceramic pots, with bags of fertilizer squeezed under each arm, and balancing a flat of pansies, heaven knows how. But I was smiling. After this winter, the mere smell of spring makes me happy.</p>